Waterman’s Martial Arts Dojo under inspection; owners hope that it won’t bring Phelps Mercantile with it

John Haeger - Oneida Daily Dispatch
Engineers, Oneida City Police and Oneida Fire Department remain on the scene as the teams determine the best way to remove the building from the lot without causing damage to neighboring structures.

ONEIDA>> Engineers were still on the scene as of 11:30 on June 3 inspecting the best way to take down Waterman’s Martial Arts Dojo without affecting its neighbor.

Dojo owner Heath Waterman said that he was on the scene of the collapse last night until 2 a.m. and back again today with engineers at 7:30 a.m. He said that the walls in the building always required constant maintenance. He had noticed cracks last week and had called masons in to inspect and repair the damage. They couldn’t have predicted that this would happen.

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“The mason had said that the inner-layer of brick was still strong,” Waterman said. “They said that the wall was still stable.”

Waterman said he was fighting against time with the building, as previous owners had struggled to maintain the older building as well.

“If we had had more time between storms, maybe this could’ve been prevented,” Waterman said.

He said he is getting offers for temporary places to hold karate classes and training, though the safety of his neighbors takes priority.

“I just want to make sure that my neighbors building is safe, and that it doesn’t have to come down,” Waterman said. “I will probably have classes in the park, rain or shine. After all, rain builds character.”

Waterman said he has had his Dojo at 128 Phelps St. for over six years. He took over the spot right after he graduated from college and Johnny Owens moved his karate down south. The studs that are showing are non-load bearing, and were put in place for walls inside the building. Waterman was using the upper floors for storage.

One of the Phelps Mercantile owners, Teri Hill, said that the ceiling on the third floor has been damaged and that she hopes that the engineers will be able to keep her building intact, though the two blocks are connected.

“I’m just glad no one was hurt,” Hill said. “We’ll see were it goes from there.”

Oneida resident Sherry Tiller was the first to see the building crack and reported it to the police. What followed was something she said she’s never seen before, and hopes she doesn’t see again.

“My daughter and I were walking through that parking lot next to the building, when we saw it crack and watched a couple bricks fall out,” Tiller said. “I called the cops and they told me to stay put.”

Tiller said that around 7:30 p.m., after she got off the phone, she watched big red clouds of dust plume out of the building as it fell. She instinctively ran from the edge of the parking lot to an alcove across the street and shielded her daughter.

“I called them right back and said they needed to get here a lot faster,” Tiller said.

She said that the building collapse scared her daughter Alyssa so much that she couldn’t sleep last night.

Information from the engineers was not completed or available at the time of this report. No action has been taken to take down the building yet. An update will follow.

About the Author

Until December, 2014, Nick will was a staff writer at the Oneida Daily Dispatch. Hailing from Madison. Nick is a 2012 SUNY Plattsburgh graduate. In his time at The Dispatch, he focused on education, history and community events coverage in Madison and Southern Oneida counties. Reach the author at nwill@oneidadispatch.com
or follow Nick on Twitter: @DispatchNick.